I agree with this article because when you are thankful for what you have, instead of sad for what you do not have, you are focused on the positive. This makes me feel better, so it makes sense that it would be good for anyone’s health.

The article makes three suggestions which I think are all good ideas:

1) Keep a daily journal of three things you are thankful for. This works well first thing in the morning, or just before you go to bed.

This is a great idea. It is better than just thinking it because it is a stronger thought when you write something. The problem with this is finding the time to write anything down. Once I get all of my homework done, I want to sleep. This does not mean that I am not grateful, just too tired to write anything else. This would be a good idea for the summer or a holiday period.

2) Make it a practice to tell a spouse, partner or friend something you appreciate about them every day.

This is another good idea because we often forget to tell the most important people how much they mean to us.

3) Look in the mirror when you are brushing your teeth, and think about something you have done well recently or something you like about yourself.

This is the hardest for me because sometimes I am critical about myself, but it is probably the most important thing to appreciate one’s self. This is the best idea from the article for me to try.

I chose a bowl of cherries to represent my English class, because cherries are awesome! Also, I chose them because cherries are hard, but still are sweet! This is just like my class, it is fun but challenging at the same time! So cool!

It makes sense to me that you learn by making mistakes. If you do not try anything new, then you will only know what you have done before. Almost always, when you try something new, you make some kind of mistake because you have never tried it before. You may have gotten it partly or mostly right so you just need to figure out the wrong part and add on to your knowledge.

The quote about the expert making all of the mistakes in a narrow field of knowledge also makes sense. If you try something similar to what you know, then you can add on your knowledge and relate what you are doing new to what you already know.

You can keep taking little steps out to learn new things about a subject that you are really interested in. If you make a mistake this way, you do not have to throw away everything you did or tried just the new little step. Then you can try something new without feeling hopeless like you wasted your time.

The research about what adults say to students is interesting. I did not know that telling someone that they were smart, would discourage them so much from trying something new or difficult. I think it is good to sometimes encourage another person by telling them that they are smart enough to try something, but also not so much as to make them fear looking dumb if they do not always look smart. I think the combination of recognizing great ideas that show someone is smart with recognizing hard work will encourage a student to try the most new things and learn.

This solution to the problem is really great. The most important thing about the solution is that it is easy and cheap. It even uses plastic bottles that might end up in landfills. I think that it would be good if there was a way for ideas like these to be shared quickly. Ideas that have the following qualities should be shared and a website built for people to donate to help. Money could be used for the materials needed and to train people to take the idea to new locations. The people trained could be workers in the challenging locations.

1. Easy to make and install especially if they can be made and installed by the people needing it.

Benefits: It does not need skilled labor that might not be available or affordable. It provides activities and jobs for people who may not have a job or need to work while caring for children or elderly.

2. Cheap to make

Benefit: It costs the people needing it very little. If others are donating to the project, then the donated funds go to help more people.

3. Environmentally friendly – The creation and use of the product should not harm people.

Benefits: If the materials are recycled like the plastic bottles, then they do not end up in the garbage and also they cost less. If the solution is safe around people and children then that is a benefit. Sometimes when people have limited choices they use dangerous materials. If the people in the video needed light and could not afford the electricity, they might have used candles or fires inside their houses which could be very dangerous.

A way to get more good ideas like this would be to hold contests at schools and universities to see what great ideas are created. The winner could get a trip to travel to a country to set up the idea in real life. Students are very motivated to help the earth because they are going to have to live here the longest. They realize the most that we need to stop polluting the planet.

I really like this idea because it shows that an invention does not need a computer and can be really simple.

Brenda Bowen knew she could help as soon as the weeping woman, seated next to her on the airplane from Memphis, Tenn., told her how much her cancer-stricken 6-year-old son loves “Army guys.”

Bowen, 51, a single mother of two grown kids, listened intently as a tearful Rachel Pertile, 39, described her need to return home to Columbia, S.C., to see her other three sons, ages 11, 8 and 2, while husband Alex, 43, filled in for six days at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, where Evan was being treated. Pertile told Bowen that Evan was weak and not eating much because of his radiation treatments and brain tumor.

After a random act of kindness…
Now, Evan, who had dropped from 62 to 52 pounds during treatment, weighs 57 pounds. He returned home in July after eight months at St. Jude.

“He’s doing great,” his mom says. “We can’t say he’s in remission, but there’s no evidence of cancer on his MRI.”

As for Evan, now more than ever, he dreams of growing up and being a soldier. “I want to be an Army guy,” he says, “’cause they are cool. And they helped me.”

A fresh coat of hope

Jack Jordan, 50, was concerned when he encountered a shaky Ruth Davis, 82, standing by their mailboxes late last year in their neighborhood in Medford, Ore.

The widow had just opened a notice from the managers of Whispering Pines home park giving her 30 days to paint her house, and she simply could not afford to hire someone to do it.

After a random act of kindness…
Davis no longer has the burden hanging over her head. Davis says Jordan went beyond being a good neighbor. “I don’t know how I can ever repay him,” she says.

This article points out that small actions can have big results. The soldiers took the time to cheer up the sick child, and after they encouraged him to eat, he gained weight and has had good medical tests.

The man painted his neighbor’s house, which was much easier for him and made a huge difference to the woman who was receiving notices. All of these people have sacrificed things in their day to significantly improve the life of a friend or stranger.

Some examples of random acts of kindness that we could do…

1. Notice if the neighbor’s mail or newspaper is piling up and check on them.

2. Check on the dog running loose, to see if it has gotten away from its owner.

3. Help carry belongings of a fellow student with an injury, to a class.

4. Support a friend to get through a crisis

We could all come together and perform one small thing that would greatly impact someone else’s life.

The WWII veterans are heroes. Earl Morse, who started the organization Freedom Flights, is also a hero for making sure that the WWII heroes are still honored. Mr. Morse started a movement that both honored the veterans and also raised awareness of the sacrifice of the WWII veterans.

This awareness first expanded to the veterans being honored around the country as he got support for the flights, both from family member and donors. As this awareness grew even more, then companies like American Airlines did something similar with the Freedom Flight that Cross Timbers Middle School participated in.

This project was different from Mr. Morse’s original idea, because it used kids to accompany the veterans to the memorial. This was an even better expansion of the project because it made the current generation more knowledgeable of the veterans’ heroic actions and also it was even more enjoyable for the veterans to know that the current generation still honors them and their actions.